


Birthday Surprise

by melissima



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 04:55:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16401701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissima/pseuds/melissima
Summary: It's nearly Sister Julienne's birthday, and the Midwives are planning a surprise.





	Birthday Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fmnds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fmnds/gifts).



> Happy Halloween to FMNDS!

The clinic always sounded a bit, well, cacophonous, and this particular day was no exception. The lungs of little Billy Baines were definitely exceptional: from across the clinic his furious screams obliterated the sprightly song on the radio, as well as the voices of all the other mothers, babies and nurses in the room. He very nearly drowned out the telephone ringing on her desk. Shelagh found herself sorely tempted to find a pair of earplugs, or something with which to stifle the sturdy toddler's bellows long enough to answer. She looked frantically around the clinic for anyone she might ask to quiet him.  
Blessedly, Sister Julienne emerged from her treatment cubicle and produced a pencil and a bit of newspaper. She showed the boy how to hold the pencil and exclaimed over his scribbles, much to his delight.  
The phone was still ringing. Shelagh startled and reached for it. "Dr. Turner's office, how may I help you?" By the time she'd made an appointment for the caller to come in the following week, Billy's mother had returned from her examination and, looking sheepish, led him away. 

☼

Trixie, Barbara and Phyllis appeared at her desk several hours later, showing signs of having survived yet another hectic clinic day. Still, they each wore a smile with more than a hint of mischief behind it.  
"We've only just learned, it will be Sister Julienne's birthday the twelfth of next month," Trixie stage-whispered, "we've decided to throw her a party!"  
"Oh, it's a lovely thought, Trixie, but the order encourages the sisters to forego any ostentatious celebrations of oneself. They are usually given an extra hour of meditation time to reflect on the year past, and sometimes a special pudding. Sister Julienne does quite enjoy a slice of gingerbread, as I recall."  
"We have gingerbread for pudding twice a month already," Trixie protested, "Are you really sure we can't have at least a little party? We can keep it just between us — the sisters, the midwives, Fred and his family, and your family, Shelagh. That's…well. I think we can fit that many into the dining room, if we borrow an extra table."  
"I really quite sure she won't want us to make a fuss, Trixie. Perhaps you could ask her directly, before you ,put effort toward something she isn't comfortable with."  
"She may be a nun," Phyllis put in, "but she's still a human being! There must be something she would enjoy. I'm happy to play chauffeur if she'd like to go somewhere… do you think she'd fancy a trip to a museum, or some other cultural destination?"  
Shelagh made as if to protest again, but Barbara held out a placating hand. "I agree we should speak with her directly before we actually plan something, but we ought to at least put some thought into it. You've known her longer than any of us, Shelagh. Has she never spoken of something she'd like?"  
"I'll think on it. In the meantime, please don't arrange anything without her input."  
☼  
Phyllis found herself looking around Nonnatus house with a different perspective. She would never snoop through Sister Julienne's private things, but perhaps she could notice something in the public areas of the house that would inspire the perfect birthday celebration. Sister Julienne kept herself busy almost continuously with patients, prayers, and the sundry tasks of keeping the house and its services running smoothly. She was certainly relaxed at mealtimes around the big table, and was always quick to share a smile with anyone. In spite of that, Phyllis found it sad that she never saw Sister Julienne doing anything for herself.  
☼  
Trixie looked around the room she shared with Cynthia, full of midwives decompressing after their day of hectic clinic wrangling. "It's a good job it helps keep us slim, otherwise we'd be better off running away to the circus!"  
Barbara blew a lock of her silky, fine hair off her forehead, "That Billy wasn't half screaming the roof down on top of it. Bless sister Julienne, I think even Shelagh was ready to lock him in a cupboard by the time she finally got him to settle!"  
"The woman is a saint, I don't mind telling you," said Trixie, refilling her cocktail from the makeshift bar on her windowsill. "It's a shame we can't get her Beatified for her birthday! She might actually take a day off, if the pope said so." Tittering at her own joke, Trixie realized that the fresh cocktail was probably a bad idea.  
Phyllis and Cynthia gaped at her, making the embarrassment swell even more. She turned away to reapply her lipstick in the suddenly quiet room.  
"It's brilliant, Trixie you're brilliant!" Cynthia breathed.  
Trixie dropped her compact on the bed and turned to face her again. "Of course I am. What have I said?"  
"Well, if we can't have her sainted, we can at least petition the order, I'm sure," Phyllis added, "Shelagh will know how to go about it, certainly."  
☼  
They gathered at Shelagh's desk the following morning, on the pretext of informing her of the previous evening's births.  
"It's certainly irregular. I've not heard of laypeople petitioning on a sister's behalf for a vacation. The usual process is started by either the sister herself, or perhaps her superior. However you do live and work almost as closely with Sister Julienne as her sisters do, so I can imagine your voices wouldn't seem as unexpected as those who know her from the community."  
In the end, It was decided that Cynthia would write to the mother house, requesting a special dispensation. The midwives waited daily for a letter in response, but it never arrived.  
Disappointed, they planned a special dinner and gingerbread for pudding. They'd give some extra time to a special community project or two as soon as opportunities presented themselves.

☼  
The eleventh dawned clear and bright, ushered in by the birth of especially beautiful twins. Sister Julienne bicycled home enjoying the sunrise and the satisfying exhaustion of ushering precious lives into the world. No one else was about as she collected tea and porridge from the kitchen and settled in her office to record a few more notes before sleep. The phone rang just as she finished the last mouthful. Mother superior greeted her warmly and wished her a happy birthday.  
When the call ended, she washed and prayed, and finally allowed herself a few hours of sleep.  
☼  
Shelagh had been persuaded to lunch with the midwives, in order to confirm the birthday dinner plans. Sister Julienne came down to join them, causing mischievous grins to overtake everyone, despite the somewhat mundane celebration they'd settled for. Sister Julienne graciously took no notice, simply smiling to herself as she so often did. Shelagh wondered for the dozenth time recently whether there weren't something she overlooked in planning for her dear friend's special day. She was awakened from these worries by the sound of a fork against glass, as Sister Julienne rose from her place at the head of the table.  
"I've heard from the mother house this morning," she began, "it's been decided that they'll send one of our sisters here tonight, to begin learning from me about the running of Nonnatus house. I trust that each of you will do whatever may be required to assist sister Mary Catherine in her effort to become proficient as quickly as possible."  
The quiet midwives faces varied from deeply worried Cynthia to curious, unflappable Phyllis.  
"Sister Julienne," Shelagh blurted, "surely you aren't leaving us," she bit her lip in embarrassment at the outburst.  
"Of course not, my dear," the sister replied, "apparently, the order received a petition on my behalf for a day free from work," here she paused to smile at each of the conspirators in turn, "she will simply be supporting all of you during my vacation."  
The cheer that erupted made the memory of little Billy's wailing seem thin and far away in comparison.

☼

On the first morning of her vacation, Sister Julienne woke in her borrowed room at the Mother house, made a pot of tea, collected her bible and her missal, and settled down in the common room with a tin of Barbara's homemade biscuits at her elbow. She could hear the voices of her sisters as a gentle murmur, no more distracting than a gentle breeze through trees. The serenity would be hers for only a few days, but it was a treasure she intended to savor.


End file.
